Episode 1.2, "The Blind Banker"

[Arcadia]

Maybe he deduced she was a really poor shot.

[sittything]

Shan (I can never even remember her name) didn't strike me as all that bright;  she was just a pawn.  Surely he was using that (the ricochet bit) against her, right?  She was also an incredibly dull criminal... zzzzz.....

 

I literally yelled at Sarah tonight, "Just fall down already!  What is wrong with you?!  Tip your chair!  C'mon!!!!  Aaaaaauuuuggghhh!!!"

[sittything]

 

So one question about TBB that I've never understood, in the tunnel why doesn't homegirl just fall over in her chair... like John did trying to reach her.  'Cause then she won't be in the path of the arrow/spear/whatever.

 

I've wondered that myself.  In all the other scenes, Sarah appears to be intelligent, confident, daring and resourceful.  She even clobbers the bad guy who's going after Sherlock.  But here she goes all whimpery-damsel-in-distress.  Maybe being tied up with a big honkin' arrow aimed at her was simply the last straw?

Right?!  Like I get being a bit deer caught in headlights in a situation like that but I'd like to think that would only last a few moments and then I could be like... how can I not die?  She just had it so together for the whole episode... and then that.  Mary would have known to fall over. 

[sittything]

Oh, and Sherlock trying to comfort Sarah while he was untying her....  but yeah, no he doesn't care about people.  Not at all.  Nothing to see here.

 

 

[Carol the Dabbler]

She just had it so together for the whole episode... and then that.  Mary would have known to fall over. 

Mary would've probably pulled a submachine gun out of her purse and mowed down the entire Tong! 

 

[SherlockedCAMPer]

After re-watching the episode last night on BBC America. It is possible she was afraid that she was going to be attacked by one of the Tong. They were by her most of the time as Sherlock started taking them out.

[Boton]

I rewatched on BBCA as well.  (Don't know quite why I'm doing that, since I have the series in my Netflix streaming queue and own the DVDs, but oh well.....)  

 

There's a lot to like in TBB, but it remains my least favorite episode.  That's relative, of course; this would be a fabulous episode of any other TV series.

 

I think, maybe, that I got the utility out of TBB the first time through, and it suffers as a rewatch piece.  Like, you really need to have the scene contrasting John and the chip and pin machine with Sherlock and his fight in the flat so that you were assured after SiP that these two are very different men in very different worlds coming together, the ordinary and the extraordinary.  You need the subtle and heartbreaking little bit where Seb says that everyone hated Sherlock in university, and he has this look of humiliation cross his face.  You need to have some of the details of solving the case spelled out for you so you understand Sherlock's methods going forward.  But I don't need it repeated once I understand the characters.

 

I just don't ever lose myself in this episode the way I do in others.  I guess it's OK to have a least favorite, so there you go. 

[Carol the Dabbler]

Good point -- this was to a certain extent still an introductory episode, so they had to nail down a few things we'd already seen alluded to in ASiP.  Sort of "tell me twice and it's true."

 

With all that to accomplish, maybe they wanted a fairly simply plot, so it wouldn't distract from the character establishment.  Well, simple is fine.  But could still do without all those plot holes.  (I keep hearing Bilbo saying, "It's supposed to look like that, it's crochet.")

 

[Arcadia]

Well, don't forget ... they originally thought this would be six one-hour episodes, I'm assuming at least part of the script was already in place, and they had no idea the show would be so popular. So they couldn't have realized that each episode basically needed to be a blockbuster!

[Carol the Dabbler]

True.  I wonder what each of the multiple plots in "Great Game" would have been like if expanded to 90 minutes (or even 60)?

 

[sfmpco]

Was there a reason why Rupert Graves wasn't in this episode?  Was he committed to something else at the time or did he get ill?  Anyone know?

[Carol the Dabbler]

What I've heard is that they wanted to develop an alternative character, so they could have a change of pace now and then.

 

[sfmpco]

Apparently that went over like a lead weight, although I liked Dimmick.  Is there a character in canon with that name?

[T.o.b.y]

I don't think so. But I for one enjoyed the sparring between Sherlock and Dimmuck (I have no idea how his name is spelled). It's very much in keeping with the original stories, where very often the official forces are far from appreciative of the "amateur" detective's manner and methods, even though the rely on his help.

 

I kind of miss the old antagonism between Sherlock and the rest of the world...

[SherlockedCAMPer]

I double checked and there definitely is no Dimmock in the ACD stories. It is possible that Moftiss came up with that name or it is from one of the many non-ACD Holmes stories they consider part if canon.

[Arcadia]

I kind of miss the old antagonism between Sherlock and the rest of the world...

Oh, I think it's still there, he just didn't interact as much with "the rest of the world" in S3. And his arrogance is slightly more in check, yay! I could only take so much of that without some sign he's outgrowing it. I think they've done a pretty good job of moving him forward while keeping him the same, actually. He's not in his own head so much, but the head's still the same, if you see what I mean.

[Carol the Dabbler]

... I for one enjoyed the sparring between Sherlock and Dimmuck (I have no idea how his name is spelled). It's very much in keeping with the original stories....

 

IMDb, Wikipedia, and Sherlockology (click the Character icon) all spell it "Dimmock."

 

Can't help wondering whether the name is intentionally descriptive.

[T.o.b.y]

 

I kind of miss the old antagonism between Sherlock and the rest of the world...

Oh, I think it's still there, he just didn't interact as much with "the rest of the world" in S3. And his arrogance is slightly more in check, yay! I could only take so much of that without some sign he's outgrowing it. I think they've done a pretty good job of moving him forward while keeping him the same, actually. He's not in his own head so much, but the head's still the same, if you see what I mean.

 

Yes, I think I do. And of course it makes more sense to have him learn and mature than to let him stay just the same over decades (which seems to be the case with a lot of series protagonists).

 

But while I admire and approve of the character development, which is beautifully done in my humble opinion, I can still have a favorite "phase", and that is the early Sherlock of the first three episodes.

[sittything]

I think the  development of Sherlock over the years could be a really fascinating, dynamic thing to watch if they really manage to do this until BC is an old man.     The caveat being that the show is still a quality show all of that time.  I don't want quantity over quality.

[T.o.b.y]

 

I think the  development of Sherlock over the years could be a really fascinating, dynamic thing to watch if they really manage to do this until BC is an old man.     The caveat being that the show is still a quality show all of that time.  I don't want quantity over quality.

 

 

Neither do I! As far as I am concerned, They can stop after series 4, provided they bring things to some kind of a satisfying close. I have no problem with rewatching something I like over and over again, but I do have a problem with seeing something I loved being spoiled.

 

[Boton]

 

I think the  development of Sherlock over the years could be a really fascinating, dynamic thing to watch if they really manage to do this until BC is an old man.     The caveat being that the show is still a quality show all of that time.  I don't want quantity over quality.

 

 

Yes.  I would like to see them do something more or less similar to Original Series Spock from Star Trek.  That is, embark on a very gradual trajectory with perhaps one or two big life-changing events but otherwise just a slow growth.  Which means they have plenty of room for seasons where there is no big character development change for Sherlock, just a bit of a nudge here and there that takes him on a journey to where he's going to end up.

[sittything]

I don't want this to become what X-Files became for me.  

 

Me watching X-Files seasons 1-7:  

 

 

Season 8-9:

 

 

 

[sfmpco]

Well, SHERLOCK isn't trying to put out 22 episodes per season.  Otherwise, I think the characters and stories might get a bit dusty.  Instead we get 4-1/2 hours every two years.  We already know they have S5 planned, and it wouldn't surprise me if they didn't have S6 too on the back burner.  But whether or not we'll see anything beyond that...hard to say.  Yes, the actors say they want to do it until they are old but life happens.

[sittything]

I don't even think it was the sheer number of episodes, and 20+ each season is a lot (and it leads to a few duds each season).  X-Files undoing was the loss of Duchovny.  You can't take a show like that, take away one of the two leads, and expect it to work the same.  They should have ended it then.   So dumb.   It'd be like Sherlock minus Benedict or Martin.  Not that I think there's any real risk of that given the history of these two characters.  The canon protects the show from that sort of idiocy.  

 

*sorry... back to your regularly scheduled Sherlock posting*  

[T.o.b.y]

I don't even think it was the sheer number of episodes, and 20+ each season is a lot (and it leads to a few duds each season).  X-Files undoing was the loss of Duchovny.  You can't take a show like that, take away one of the two leads, and expect it to work the same.  They should have ended it then.   So dumb.   It'd be like Sherlock minus Benedict or Martin.  Not that I think there's any real risk of that given the history of these two characters.  The canon protects the show from that sort of idiocy.  

 

Lets hope so! I mean, there are stories where Holmes works on his own, told from his point of view, but they don't work nearly as well as the other ones, if you ask me.

 

And I completely agree with you about X-Files.